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Tuongvan Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
until now i had been unable to come back
Dear teachers,
Could you please help me use "until now" correctly.Can I write as below?:
Situation: Mr.A lives in the USA, but his father and mother live in Viertnam. Mr.A wanted to come back to Vietnam to visit his parents, but he had not enough money to do that.Therefore, he had to save money for his trip back to Vietnam.He has been saving money for nearly three years and now he has enough money to realize his dream of flying to Vietnam to visit his parents.
Today when Mr.A meets his parents at their home in Vietnam he says:
" Dear parents, I was supposed to come back here to visit you a long time ago, but I couldn't because I did not have enough money then. Therefore, until today, I had been unable to visit you.Don't be angry with me."
" Dear parents, I was supposed to come back here to visit you a long time ago, but I couldn't because I did not have enough money then. Therefore, until today, I was unable to visit you.Don't be angry with me."
By the way, please help correct the whole paragrahp of the situation above
Thank you in advance
Could you please help me use "until now" correctly.Can I write as below?:
Situation: Mr.A lives in the USA, but his father and mother live in Viertnam. Mr.A wanted to come back to Vietnam to visit his parents, but he had not enough money to do that.Therefore, he had to save money for his trip back to Vietnam.He has been saving money for nearly three years and now he has enough money to realize his dream of flying to Vietnam to visit his parents.
Today when Mr.A meets his parents at their home in Vietnam he says:
" Dear parents, I was supposed to come back here to visit you a long time ago, but I couldn't because I did not have enough money then. Therefore, until today, I had been unable to visit you.Don't be angry with me."
" Dear parents, I was supposed to come back here to visit you a long time ago, but I couldn't because I did not have enough money then. Therefore, until today, I was unable to visit you.Don't be angry with me."
By the way, please help correct the whole paragrahp of the situation above
Thank you in advance
Top answer
A lives in the USA, but his father and mother live in Viertnam. Therefore, he had to save money for his trip back to Vietnam. He has been saving money for nearly three years and now he has enough money to realize his dream of flying to Vietnam to visit his parents.
- A lives in the USA, but his father and mother live in Viertnam.
- Therefore, he had to save money for his trip back to Vietnam.
- He has been saving money for nearly three years and now he has enough money to realize his dream of flying to Vietnam to visit his parents.
- A meets his parents at their home in Vietnam he says: " Dear parents, I was supposed to come back here to visit you a long time ago, but I couldn't because I did not have enough money then.
- Therefore, until today, I had been unable to visit you.
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10 Answers
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Hi,
Situation: Mr.A lives in the USA, but his father and mother live in Viertnam. Mr.A wanted to come back to Vietnam to visit his parents, but he had not enough money to do that.Therefore, he had to save money for his trip back to Vietnam. He has been saving money for nearly three years and now he has enough money to realize his dream of flying to Vietnam to visit his parents.
T
Situation: Mr.A lives in the USA, but his father and mother live in Viertnam. Mr.A wanted to come back to Vietnam to visit his parents, but he had not enough money to do that.Therefore, he had to save money for his trip back to Vietnam. He has been saving money for nearly three years and now he has enough money to realize his dream of flying to Vietnam to visit his parents.
T
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Thank you Clive very much 
,but I still don;t understand exactly what you mean.Do you mean "until today, I had been unable to visit ", "until today, I have been unable to visit you " and"until today, I was unable to visit you" are all correct ?
How about this paragraph?is it
,but I still don;t understand exactly what you mean.Do you mean "until today, I had been unable to visit ", "until today, I have been unable to visit you " and"until today, I was unable to visit you" are all correct ?How about this paragraph?is it
00
Hi,
Thank you Clive very much,but I still don;t understand exactly what you mean.Do you mean "until today, I had been unable to visit ", "until today, I have been unable to visit you " and"until today, I was unable to visit you" are all correct ? No, just the last two.
Thank you Clive very much
,but I still don;t understand exactly what you mean.Do you mean "until today, I had been unable to visit ", "until today, I have been unable to visit you " and"until today, I was unable to visit you" are all correct ? No, just the last two.00
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Hi teacherClive,
I wonder whther "until today, I have been unable to visit you . . ." has a different meaning from ""until today, I was unable to visit you"
I think"until today, I have been unable to visit you " means" in the past I was not able to visit you:and now I still haven't been able to
I wonder whther "until today, I have been unable to visit you . . ." has a different meaning from ""until today, I was unable to visit you"
I think"until today, I have been unable to visit you " means" in the past I was not able to visit you:and now I still haven't been able to
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Hi,
I wonder whther "until today, I have been unable to visit you . . ." has a different meaning from ""until today, I was unable to visit you"
I think"until today, I have been unable to visit you " means" in the past I was not able to visit you:and now I still haven't been able to visit yo
I wonder whther "until today, I have been unable to visit you . . ." has a different meaning from ""until today, I was unable to visit you"
I think"until today, I have been unable to visit you " means" in the past I was not able to visit you:and now I still haven't been able to visit yo
00
Dear teacher,
However, the context will normally make the meaning clear, eg I am saying this when face to face with my parents in Vietnam?
Yes, I am saying this when face to face with my parents in Vietnam.
So does this sentence has double meaning?:
I have searched for an old friend of mine, but I haven't met him until now/so fa
However, the context will normally make the meaning clear, eg I am saying this when face to face with my parents in Vietnam?
Yes, I am saying this when face to face with my parents in Vietnam.
So does this sentence has double meaning?:
I have searched for an old friend of mine, but I haven't met him until now/so fa
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Hi,
does this sentence has double meaning?:
Ihave searched for an old friend of mine, but I haven't met him until now/so far .
I wouldn't say it the way you have. It's more natural to use continuous. ie I have been searching for an old friend of mine. . .
I'd also use the verb 'find' rather than 'met'. You search, and then you find.
Does
does this sentence has double meaning?:
Ihave searched for an old friend of mine, but I haven't met him until now/so far .
I wouldn't say it the way you have. It's more natural to use continuous. ie I have been searching for an old friend of mine. . .
I'd also use the verb 'find' rather than 'met'. You search, and then you find.
Does
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Hi,
Dictionaries are not grammar books.
With phrases like this, a very great deal depends on the rest of the sentence, eg the tense, the context, the overall meaning.
Consider all the comments you have received in all the threads that you have started recently concerning 'until now'. You can't expect a dictionary to include such lengthy discussions.
Best wishes, Cl
Dictionaries are not grammar books.
With phrases like this, a very great deal depends on the rest of the sentence, eg the tense, the context, the overall meaning.
Consider all the comments you have received in all the threads that you have started recently concerning 'until now'. You can't expect a dictionary to include such lengthy discussions.
Best wishes, Cl
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